Leading the battle and the Scotties was #7 QB Matthew Newman. The game was highly competitive. A great game for sure. In fact the game went into overtime but as Matthew tried to manufacture a win for his team something went wrong. Somewhere and somehow he received a very traumatic hit. As the effects of that blow began to take their near deadly toll upon him he began to loose consciousness and control. Things went from bad to worse.
A silence went out across the stadium. It was not long before it was clear that Matthew was in some real trouble. He left later in an ambulance. That night in Yakima at the hospital Newman would go through life saiving surgery.
In the weeks and then months that followed that fateful night he and his family would be tested time and again. In the Hospital minutes ran into hours which ran into days and then into weeks. He had suffered what people still call a concussion but it it is more correctly called a Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI. His was a bad one. His brain had received a serious blow and was bleeding internally and swelling. The surgery he had was drastic and involved more then we care to write here. Safe to say it is more traumatic and terrifying then almost anything you can imagine.
What followed was serious weight loss, life threatening infection, days and days of incredible pain, and an unbelievable amount of medical procedures which included all forms of tubes and devices being hooked up to him.
But Matthew refused to give in to this injury. This monster. This killer. This horrible thing that happened would try and try to take him from his loved ones...but he simply refused to let it win. Just like the way he battled for that win that night he now battled for his own win. Matthew faced it head on.
He wasn't alone. You won't find anywhere in the world a more dedicated family then the Newsman's. They are an amazing bunch and each one has a personality and a set of gifts which compliment the others. They are farmers and just like a good farm family doing their daily chores they set about the business of trying to help Matthew get better.
Round the clock Mom and Dad, Marla and Randy would be there. Older Brother Patrick did what he could as did younger brother Bennie. Grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and many many friends and family members were there too. There for Matthew to give and do what they could.
Prayers and well wishes were there. They poured in at times by the thousands. Maybe he did and maybe he did not realize all that was happening to him. He will tell you that the answer to that question was some of both.
When I got involved and founded the Raise 7 For Matthew campaign he was fighting an infection and at a serious cross road. To meet him in late November was an honor. The strength there in his eyes despite his now frail body was evident. The spark and twinkle told the story of a Champion just waiting for his chance to rise again. He clearly was in a fight. A big fight the magnitude of which few of us will ever have the ability to appreciate. To have it all and then to have this event happen...well many men would have simply given in to it and gone with God to the other side. But Matthew had other plans and so did all of us.
That first meeting in late November was difficult for me. I had driven straight to the Seattle Childrens Hospital after I finished a 4 hour drive to Tacoma from Portland and 4 hours of reporting on the Washington State Football Semi Finals.
"Hey what's up Dirk. Thanks for all your doing."
In that moment we became friends. Not for the moment, although I will never forget that moment. Not for the week or until he got better. No this friendship will remain intact until I am gone. That is something I just know and I knew it when his hand pressed into mine. The deal was done and a silent contract was bound between us.
Later on in early December the second time we met he would tell me "I am going to be home by Christmas" and we all had to wonder if that could happen. He was not eating and had lost a lot of weight. He was not sitting up much let alone standing or walking.
We openly discussed him reaching small goals to get to that date. Sitting up was a goal. Trying to fight off the infection and trying to eat were others. There were many goals he would have to meet in order to get there. It was a tremendous visit.
I returned to Portland that weekend filled with a sense or Pride, Hope, and Faith.
Pride in the fact that we had through our little organization brought hundreds or prayers and well wishes. Pride too in the fact that several teams of young men and hundreds of fans had read Matthew's story and raised their hands at these games and Championships I had attended. It was amazing to see complete strangers doing this and paying homage to a young man that had paid such a price . For all of that I was Proud.
Hope came in the form of Matthew himself. It may sound crazy but he was actually giving people Hope. Even though he received Hope from his family and friends and all of us at Raise 7 I am here to tell you he gave more then he received and he did it and does it every day by just his amazing efforts to recover. he does it by the love and friendship he gives He gave me Hope in so many ways that I can not even begin to tell you. He also restored my Faith in People.
Faith comes in many forms in this story. Faith in God and in the power of prayer. Faith in family and friends. Faith that the power of many is far more then the power of one. Faith in his Doctors and the miracle of modern medicine. Faith that his life can be returned to the place that it was or maybe even into a better place!
Matthew as you may know did get home... not at Christmas but on New Years Eve day. Not too bad at all! That was the realization of a major Goal he had set. He did it even though he would at times tell a few of us that "I am not sure if I can make it". We replied "Of Course You Will".
He dreamed also of the day he would go back to see his friends and his family at Highland High School. It is now basketball season and he is #24 on the Hoops team. He has to be very careful where he goes and what he does as he is still needing to be all fixed up in the late Spring and is not stable enough to walk on his own!
But last Friday Night with his brothers and Dad and his best girl with him he returned to the Highland Gym to be there for his team. This was the first public outing for Matthew and as he came into the Gym the kids and fans saw him and began to cheer "We Love Matthew....We Love Matthew.... We Love Matthew".
He turned to them all and Raised his hands with the Number 7 which has become famous world wide now far beyond the Yakima Valley and the State of Washington. He Raised Seven for many of those folks that have been Raising 7 for him for Months now. This night the Scotties would go on to win their first game of the year.
That moment and the moments with the kids and players at the game were caught on film and some of those pictures appear here in this article. There with his family and friends Matthew Newman celebrated his life and shared it with all to see. No words can express the feelings he or they all had or the feelings that any of us that read about it and saw the pictures have. We all know and understand what a huge thing this was and how amazing that it is. The fact that he did it and that he made it reinforces all that is good and right and just in a world that had only 120 days earlier been turned completely upside down.
Matthew is a wonderful kid that did not deserve what happened to him. But he looked all of that and death himself in the face and simple said "No". He has made great strides. He has some hurdles ahead but we know that he will beat those too.
Together we will be there for him all the way. And more importantly he will be there for us too. Thank you Matthew. Thank you!
Raise 7 People. Someone in your life needs it right now.
"Never Forget Your Family. They are the most important people in your life! Never ever take them or anything you have for granted."
Matthew Newman; January 20th, 2010
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This is Dirk Knudsen. Thanks for Visiting Raise 7 For Mathew. We will review and approve you post asap. Please call me if you need anything at all at 503-799-8383 or have something you wish to contribute! Thanks;
Dirk